CANADA STOCKS-TSX steady as bank strength offset by Teck's dive

TORONTO, March 31 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was
little changed on Tuesday as strength in its financial sector
was offset by a selloff of miner Teck Resources Ltd
after it denied it was in merger talks.

Teck retreated 10.6 percent to C$17.38. The stock had surged
on Monday after Bloomberg News reported that Teck and Chile's
Antofagasta Plc were in early-stage merger discussions.
Both companies subsequently denied the report.

The index's materials sector, home to mining shares, was off
1.6 percent, pressured in part by weak commodity prices. Gold
was headed for its third quarter of price drops, while nickel
prices extended recent hefty losses, hitting the lowest price in
nearly six years on record supply and weak demand.

"Commodity prices have been bouncing around," said Elvis
Picardo, strategist and vice president of research at Global
Securities in Vancouver. "This period of calm in which we were
for many months is well and truly over, and investors should
brace for more volatility going forward."

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
closed down 5.95 points, or 0.04 percent, at
14,902.44. Eight of the 10 main sectors on the index were in the
red.

Financial technology firm D+H Corp fell 2.3 percent
to C$38.69 after it said on Monday it will acquire global
payment services provider Fundtech for $1.25 billion in cash.
The overall tech group was down 0.6 percent.

Offsetting the declines was a 1 percent jump in financial
stocks and a 0.6 percent gain in industrial shares.

Canadian National Railway Ltd rose 1.4 percent to
C$84.82. Other top advancers included Bank of Nova Scotia
, which was up 1.3 percent at C$63.54, and
Toronto-Dominion Bank, which added 1.7 percent to
C$54.21.

Bank of Montreal's top executive said battered oil
prices are expected to spur mergers and acquisitions in the
energy sector and drive advisory fees at Canada's No. 4 lender.
BMO shares advanced 1.2 percent to C$75.90.